My Digital Studio - the best thing since die cut SU! stamps!!!

So, I am just loving My Digital Studio (MDS) if you can't tell!  :)  I decided today that I would start playing around with possible Christmas photo cards.  This card is not the one I will send - can't share that until it gets mailed!!!  We still have to take a new family picture, but I wanted to get an idea for how it might look.  The great thing about MDS is that you can make your own Christmas photo card.  You know, the ones that are like a card on a picture - like a postcard, and people usually get them from Wally-World and other such places?  Well, I got so many last year that I thought maybe it's time I jump on the bandwagon and do something easy so that it's not just one more stress at this time of year that's supposed to be about something else - not about the shopping and to-do lists....  I am going to look into how much it will cost to send the finished card to a photo shop to have them reproduced so that I can do it locally and do it one at a time until I get one that I like.  I am fairly certain that they do make 5x7's in most stores that print pictures, so that's the size I'm sticking with in MDS.  We'll see how it turns out!!

PS - this was one of the "Designer Templates" in MDS so all I did was insert my picture, add some stitching to the ribbon and add the text!!!  Gotta love that!!

WOW!!!

So, have you gotten a chance to see what is inside this FABULOUS Mini Catalog?!?!?  Are you going to place your order right now using my Ordering Button to the right?  Well, in addition to the amazing seasonal stamps, papers, and accessories, Build-a-Bear die cuts, necklaces and more, is ‘My Digital Studio’–an amazing digital scrapbooking software.  This software is for so much more than just scrapbooking.  You can make greeting cards, calendars, flyers, photobooks, story books for your children, hybrid projects and even blog headers and backgrounds!!  The possiblities are vast.  It will be available on October 1st for customers to order, but one of the perks of being a demonstrator for SU! is that I already ordered it so that I can play with it before I open my home to let YOU come check it out!!! 

One other note, the Simply Adorned Charms are currently unavailable to order. There were some quality issues and Stampin' Up! only accepts the very best for us. I will keep you posted when they become available.

I want to mention the fantastic special going on NOW for hostessing a workshop which will make you want to schedule one with me right away!  From September 1st – November 30th, host a workshop totaling $250 or more and choose any one item* from the Holiday Mini Catalog for only $10! 

After My Digital Studio is released on October 1st… host a workshop of at least $400 and get My Digital Studio for 50% off the retail price (retail price: $79.95; promotional price: $39.97)!

Has it been a while since you’ve hosted a workshop in your home?  I would love to WOW you and your friends with some holiday projects!  I live in Delaware, but am willing to drive a bit for a workshop… ask me about where you live!  There are (almost) no bounds for me when I'm asked to help get some creative juices flowing!!

 

*This offer excludes hostess sets and My Digital Studio.

It's HERE.

It's GREAT.  Check it out.

Just click on the picture to download and view the BRAND NEW Holiday Mini Catalog or find it located in my right side-bar when you come back and visit in the future.

Enjoy.  Contact me to order.  Have it shipped straight to your door by clicking on the "Order SU! Online" button to the right.

Let's see if you can see this one...

Here's the little ornament that I posted earlier today.  I had a lengthy explanation about it - that I gave it to my sister, and how I made it, but I will forgo that since I just want to get it posted again and hopefully you will "see" it.  I'm sure you'd rather not read my normal essay anyway! ;) he he he Let me know if you get this e-mailed to you via your preferred subscription method.  I would appreciate it!!

ETA:  Below the picture are step-by-step (lengthy) instructions.  I love to talk - would you expect anything else!!! :)

  

Stamps:  Merry & Bright
Ink:  Black StazOn, SU! markers
Accessories:  heat tool, Sticky Strip (to adhere ribbon), red gingham ribbon, 2-way Glue Pen (to adhere glitter), Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Krylon acrylic sealant

The ornament is fairly easy to make. Here's what I did:
 
1.  Stamp image in black StazOn on Domino.  You could use other colors of StazOn, but I have never tried stamping in any other ink other than that so I don't know how it would do - if it would bleed, be permanent, etc.

2.  Heat set the image with your heat tool.  I usually do this for about 30-60 sec. depending on how large the stamped area is.  Allow it to cool.
 
3.  Using Krylon clear acrylic sealant, spray a VERY fine layer onto the domino in a well-ventilated area.  I typically do this outside on a piece of newspaper.  I hold the spray at least 30 inches away from the domino to ensure that it is a fine spray.  I usually test spray in the air to ensure that the nozzle is spraying a fine mist and not any large droplets.  If it is, you simply need to spray it some to remove any clogs.  Also, a good rule of thumb is to turn the can completely upside-down and spray until nothing comes out when you are done using it so that it is stored with no paint in the tube. 
 
4.  Allow thin layer of Krylon to dry about 5 min and then spray one more thin layer on it.  You should be able to see a different sheen to the domino where the Krylon has "landed" so if your coverage isn't very good, you can spray one more layer.
 
5.  Using your heat tool re-heat the domino for another 30 seconds to ensure that they Krylon is dry.
 
6.  Color in any parts of your image that you want using the fine tip end of your Stampin' Up! markers.  I've never tried any others, but would assume they should work - even a Sharpie should work and might even bleed less.
 
7.  Immediately after coloring part of the image in one color, heat the colored part for 20-30 seconds with your heat tool and then take a Kleenex and very carefully lay it over the image and press your finger down without any side-to-side movement to remove any excess ink.  I do this until pressing does not remove any ink.  If I'm not satisfied with what the image looks like after doing so, I touch it up.  Do this with all remaining coloring to be done.
 
8.  After last of coloring is done, heat the domino for 20-30 seconds again for a final heat set and then you will spray it again with your Krylon acrylic sealant in the same method as listed above, for 2 coats - 3 if needed.
 
9.  Apply 2-way Glue pen to parts that you want glitter and immediately dip in your Dazzling Diamonds glitter.
 
10.  Put strips of sticky strip that are 1" long around each of the 4 corners.  I find it unnecessary to wrap the entire outer edge of the domino in Sticky Strip.  Wrap your desired ribbon around the whole domino tying the loose ends in a bow at the top.
 
11.  Slip ornament hook beneath knot of bow to hang on your tree.
 
That's it!!  Hopefully the steps make sense.  I tried to explain everything I could think of as if you had never done any stamping like this before. If you're familiar with stamping on tiles or some other such surface you may want to do what you're familiar with.  As you make these you may also find better ways of doing things, or ways that suit you better.  Do what works for you!  Happy stamping, and I would love to see what you create!!!

GBC December Kit 3-D Item

Aren't these blocks cute?!?!  I had so much fun making them!

  

 

Ornament using GBC kit

This ornament uses my Big Shot, Circle 3-D Ornament Bigz die, some papers from the Go. Be Creative. November kit (Green Tea and Ginger) that you can see HERE, some ribbon (Riding Hood Red Taffeta), some buttons from the GBC kit, some white crochet thread, and some glue and glue dots to adhere everything together.  I thought it was funny - okay, sometimes little things make me smile, that my oval-shaped ornament is made up of circles (the pieces of paper) and triangles (the shapes that the circles are scored and folded into).  He he he....or not, I guess if you don't think it's kind of ironic.  Hope you like it!!

As for tomorrow, I will post in the evening my CBC02 card.  Hopefully some of you will play along!!!!  I feel kind of lonely in the challenge right now.  Check out the challenge and the GORGEOUS wedding cake that is the inspiration piece.  The reason for posting later, is so that you, I and everyone, can

VOTE!!!!!!!!

PS - Having to use my hubby's computer so I can't edit my photos at all.  Sorry for the photo tent background!!!

Sarah and Emma's Mini Pizza Boxes

 

Well, these boxes aren't for pizza, but they are for goodies, gifts and scripture quotes for my girls during the 12 days before Christmas.  I knew Emma would like the elegant, traditional Christmas colored one, and I created the Pink and Cocoa one specially for Sarah.  She loves pink right now and I knew it was what she would want.  I showed them to her when I was done and asked her which one she wanted and without hesitation she picked the one I had made her.  I don't know what I would have done if she hadn't picked it - made another of the red ones I guess!!!

Where did I come up with these boxes?  From Splitcoast Stampers!!  The Technique Lover's Challenge (TLC189) this week was to make these mini pizza boxes.  If you check out this link to TLC189 you can find the directions and a template for making them yourself. I was amazed at just how quickly they came together and they end up being 4x4.  They're SO adorable!!!

I wanted to show you different views so that you can see the ribbon I adhered to the sides.  So, click on the pics for an up-close view and see below them all for the recipes.

 

 

 

Emma's box:
Stamps:  Snow Swirled, Holidays & Wishes, Happy Everything
Paper:  Riding Hood Red Textured CS, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White CS
Ink:  VersaMark, Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip and Old Olive marker
Accessories:  Gold detail embossing powder, Fire Circle Rhinestone Brads, 1" and 1-1/4" circle punches, Designer Label punch, Alpine ribbon, paper piercing tool

Sarah's box:
Stamps:  Snow Swirled, Holidays & Wishes, Happy Everything
Paper:  Close to Cocoa, Pink Pirouette and Whisper White CS
Ink:  Close to Cocoa and Pink Pirouette classic ink, Close to Cocoa marker
Accessories:  Fire Circle Rhinestone Brads, 1" and 1-1/4" Circle punches, Designer Label punch, Pink Pirouette Striped Grosgrain, paper piercing tool 

Have you seen these yet?

 

I'm not sure if you've seen any of the ornaments from this FUN kit that SU! has in the upcoming Holiday Mini Catalog, but they are SO FUN!!! You can customize the size of your ornament depending on how big you want it.  For this ornament, I used 8 circles.  You could use just 4, on up to whatever even number your little stampin' heart desires!!!  I love the patternedpaper used for this kit - it's SO pretty and perfect for the Christmas tree.  The best part is that you can make over SIXTY FIVE ornaments with this kit, and it's only $19.95.  That's a great deal!!  Also, you can obviously make these without the kit - simply punch a bunch of circles and score them, but these circles come pre-scored so you don't have to figure out how to get an even triangle scored onto your circle to fold the three sides!!!  I know I wouldn't want to do that - especially to make a lot of them!!!  So, add it to your wish-list of items from the Holiday Mini Catalog that you've seen in sneak peeks around the stamping world!!!

PS - the ornaments are pretty easy to put together, but you may want to play with the pieces before you permanently adhere them.  Some people have a harder time conceptualizing the geometry behind the circles, but by no means is it difficult or impossible!!!

Christmas Items - Third Post

These were the only 3D items I made this year. The first picture is of an ornament made from the left-over tins from this project. The second is one of those Tootsie Roll banks that Wal-Mart has/had around Christmas-time. I used them for a Stamp Club project and also had this one to give to a friend as a gift. For the Tootsie Roll bank I used the Scratch n' Sniff embossing method that SU! shared with its demonstrators in a past issue of Stampin' Success and it DID NOT work well. I don't recommend it with unsweetened pudding. I think if you use Crystal Light, or maybe even sugar-free Jell-O it might work better. The pudding granules were too clumpy and didn't make for good embossing. You can see in the picture what I mean.

Christmas Items - First Post

Better late than never, right???? I sure hope so because I took the time to take the pictures, but didn't have time to upload so you'll get to see some stuff from Christmas on here. Just change the parts/colors that make it for Christmas and you can use it anytime!!! So, here's my Christmas collection with some commentary but sans the normal info. I will try to group the projects in different posts so that the labels apply to the pictures better. If you can't figure out what I used somewhere, leave me a comment about it and I'll let you know. Thanks!

These are some gift card/certificate holders that I made. I used a 4 1/4" x 10 " piece of CS and just made up my own score lines and ended up with these. They're super cute and super quick/easy to make.

For You Small Town Folk....

I finally got around to uploading the Advent calendar that I made. Please click on it to see it in it's full glory.  It's almost an exact CASE of the one that Beate did on SCS. You can see hers/the tutorial for it here. I loved hers, so I kept all of the colors the same I just omitted the round tags that she used and I didn't use the craft ink and emboss the numbers. I just used Classic Inks. I originally thought I would make mine out of the SU! Wintergreen paper (BTW, have you guys seen the Retiring SU! Accessories list?!?!?! All those gorgeous papers!!! :( ) but decided that the Dashing DS paper was just more "Christmas-ey". I'm grateful for the creative genius that is Beate!!!! In case you didn't know, her husband is going to be leaving at the end of this month for a ONE YEAR assignment for the Air Force (called a TDY - Temporary DutY) so she has eased up on her blogging and I sure do miss her, but TOTALLY understand why. Keep her and her family in your prayers.

Inside of our tins I put scriptures to read (like Luke 2), activities (go caroling, drive around and look at Christmas lights, watch specific Christmas videos, invite friends over for Christmas treats, etc.), things to do for others (such as leaving a surprise gift on their doorstep, taking someone Christmas treats, give away a personal item to a charity, etc.), and treats (have hot chocolate, make S'Mores, make Christmas treats, etc.) and I also put in things to prepare for Christmas (like putting out the Christmas globes our family collects - we get one each year, or putting up the outside Christmas lights, putting up the tree, putting out our stockings, etc.). Anyway, that's just for you to have some ideas of what to put in 24 little tins! :) Enjoy!!!

***All ingredients (minus the ones I mentioned omitting/changing above are listed in the SCS tutorial which is linked above)

So, what's of interest to those of you who live in small towns? This!!! Here are the links to the best deals that I found (there's a chance there are better ones out there, but I spent a lot of time looking) and two really great companies to work with. I don't have anything but a Wal-Mart here, so for the tins and the canvas' I had to buy them on-line. The tins are slightly different than the ones Beate used, but I like them better because they close REALLY well. My calendar was made spending OVER $20 on the ones at Michaels (I sent a friend who was in San Antonio and neither of us had a coupon) so that it is exactly like Beate's. I had 10 friends make these also so I ordered on-line and found cheap prices for individuals (and about a 10-cent discount PER tin for bulk orders) if you're like me and can't just go into town and buy these items. Making the calendars takes some time, but it's well worth it and they would make a wonderful Christmas gift for someone you love. Anyway, here are the links:

- 16 x 20 blank art canvas' at Cutting-Mats.net where the service was EXCEPTIONAL and the shipping was very quick!

- Metal tins with clear-view lids at WeddingAccessories.net where they cost only 55 cents each or if you buy 100 you get them for 44 cents. Just get four friends together and buy 25 each. Use 24 for the calendar and one for an ornament (I'm posting one I made tomorrow for an idea). They sell these tins in the same 2" diameter you need, but have both silver and WHITE finishes!!!

Hopefully these links will help someone out - I was glad to find decent prices. The cost of one of these comes to less than $25 (if you don't have to expedite shipping) - what a nice gift idea!

Take care and have a great night!

Scallop Circle Punch Ornament

This is not an original idea of mine, and I can't remember which blog I saw it on to save my life (please let me know if it was your blog and I'll edit this post to give credit where it is due), but I loved the idea of a simple ornament that you can make for teachers or friends, or even YOURSELF (can we do that - make things for OURSELVES?!?!?) to hang on the tree. It was SO EASY to make and I think it's adorable. I only punched five scalloped circles but you could add more or even use only four - it all depends on what you want to do. It's a great little project and with the upcoming Designer Series Paper special (buy 3 and get your fourth FREE!! but wait until November 1st to contact me to order some - when the special begins) it's just perfect for the holidays! Hopefully the different views of the ornament will help you see how it's made. I just glued each scallop to the next. You fold them each in half and glue just one side to the next scallop. Before I glued the last scallop on I put my cord in there with a little bit of glue and then added the last scallop. SU!'s elastic cord will make a nice loop for the ornaments. We'll be making these as a little bonus project at my upcoming workshops and Stamp Club. Enjoy!

Merry & Bright Goes TLC134

The TLC134 challenge for this week can be seen here on SCS. It was to make a 2-5-7-10 box (named for where your make your scores on the card stock to create the box). I am still loving the little card in the Holiday Mini Catalog that features the Merry & Bright stamp set, so I used that inspiration for this box. I hope you can see the Stickles I used (didn't want to get all glittery with glue and Dazzling Diamonds!) on the Wild Wasabi parts of the snowman's hat and as snow under the snowman. I hope you like it!

Stamps: Merry & Bright Card Stock: Wild Wasabi, Soft Sky, Basic Black, Whisper White Ink: Black StazOn, Wild Wasabi, Soft Sky Accessories: Black Brad, Soft Sky Double-Stitched Ribbon, Stickles, Blender Pen, 1/8" hand-held punch

Emma and Sarah's Ornaments

I remember back in pre-school making an ornament out of some glue, toothpicks, paint and glitter. So, here's my attempt at re-creating that opportunity for my girls. They started with a pool of Elmer's glue on wax paper. They each did EVERYTHING themselves (I had to help Sarah squeeze the bottle hard enough, but I didn't direct its flow) and I'm so proud :) Next, they laid toothpics in the glue to resemble the rays of the sun, or as we call this ornament, like a star. We had to let it dry overnight. Then, with WASHABLE poster paint (it ended up everywhere!) they painted their stars, and chose from between the only two colors I had - green and red. Emma chose red and Sarah chose green. After painting, while the paint was still wet, they sprinkled (dumped in a pile in Sarah's case at first) glitter over the ornament. Again, we let it dry overnight, and tah-dah!!!! Here they are on the tree.

Emma's ornament:

Sarah's ornament (more amoeba-like than star-like) :

My projects and the girls see Santa arrive

The following projects are the things I've been working on since returning home from Thanksgiving. I am so sick of typing in recipes for the cookbook I'm compiling that I decided to take a break, take some pictures, and FINALLY update my blog. Here ya go:

This card is one that I was asked to make 18 of for my church. My church is giving some families Christmas baskets and asked me to make some cards for them. I thought I'd try a new layout for the Texas Snowman that I've done before. If I had had some more time, I would have pierced every scallop with my piercing tool and then outlined each hole left behind with my white Signo gel pen. I love that look! No time though....

The first picture is the front of the card, the 2nd is the inside. As you'll notice, I used my large oval punch to punch a hole in the front of the card to reveal the words Texas Snowman which were mounted on the inside with dimensionals to make them "pop" even more. I got the "Barbed Wire" font (used on "Texas Snowman") and the "Susie's Hand" font (used to say "Happy Holidays") off of a really cool website that has free fonts that my friend Anne told me about. It's kind of hard to see in the picture. Here's the website: http://www.momscorner4kids.com/fonts/index.htm It has tons of fonts and it's very user friendly.

This next group of pictures are the ornaments that I made for my mom to give to some friends. I sent her one as part of a present for her birthday in November and she asked if I could make her 10 more. The ones with the snowman under the tree were easy enough. I stamped them with black StazOn and then colored them in (constantly dabbing the excess ink from my markers off of the domino so that it didn't bleed) with my SU! markers. After I let them dry, I sprayed them with a clear acrylic sealant and then used my two-way glue pen to apply the glitter at the bottom. Lastly, I used sticky tape to adhere the ribbon. The other two - the snowman ornament and the tree ornament needed lots of masking done to get the images to fit. I didn't want to cut off the snow - the glitter adds a nice glimmer to the ornaments - so I had to mask the bottoms in order to put it back in the picture. The same process was done coloring these dominos as I mentioned above.

The next set of pictures are some candles that I made that were supposed to be gifts, until each and every last one of them (there are four - 2 of the smaller hunter green ones) got dropped on the floor by a curious little 2-year old. I guess they'll be staying here!!! Candles are a fun and easy project. You simply stamp on tissue paper and then wrap it around the candle. Cover it with wax paper and then using your embossing heat tool, you gradually melt the tissue paper into the candle. You have to be VERY CAREFUL not to overheat in one spot or it will warp the candle. You can tell when it's melted properly because the tissue paper turns transparent - the color of the candle - instead of looking white. Instead of re-creating the wheel, here's a tutorial from SplitCoastStampers that I used over a year ago to teach myself how to do it: Stamping on Candles Tutorial

I am by no means a gifted scrapbooker. I still like to try it out every now and then, and here are the pages I made of the girls for Halloween. Sarah will need another page showing her whole costume, and Emma's I'm just not that fond of but I already cut up the pictures and will just leave it as it is instead of cutting up more :)

This last group of pictures is the girls and our whole family waiting for Santa to arrive at the base. We went to the Christmas Tree lighting and then had dinner at the Officer's Club afterwards. The girls were not interested in the camera at all, so the pics aren't that great. I also was not (as usual) in a photogenic mood, but it's not that awful of a picture of me, I guess :) The last picture is the worst picture with Santa in the history of the planet - okay maybe not THAT bad - Sarah was terrified of him, and you can see Peter's arm trying to hold her there for the picture. Even Santa took a bad picture - he didn't look at the camera!!! We'll probably try to go see Santa at our teeny tiny mall sometime this week or next. Maybe we'll have better luck there!

I will be out of town for a while....

We get to go visit my husband's family in Mesa, AZ after all and I'm so excited! I'm excited partly for all of the shopping I can do there - they have real stores like Jo-Ann's, Michael's, Hobby Lobby, TARGET, etc.!!!!!! Mostly I'm excited because we get to see some family that we haven't seen in a while and my sister-in-law is going to make the trip as well with her family. They weren't going to at first, and then her husband surprised her with getting vacation time so that they could go. Anyway, happy Thanksgiving to all of you. I hope that you're able to take the time to enjoy all of the blessings you have, and can perhaps take the time to help someone else during this holiday season who is less fortunate. I won't be posting until around the 4th of December. I thought I would share a tutorial I found by Laura on her blog, which I view regularly (http://inkydinkydo.blogspot.com), that I think will be really helpful for those of you who want a gorgeous but easy Christmas gift to make. They're glitter ornaments, and her tutorial is outstanding. I've seen several, but she really takes the time to show you how to do it with pictures at each step, not just words. Enjoy, view her blog and tell her thanks, and take care everyone!!!

Laura's Tutorial:

Glitter Ornament Tutorial

Ok here goes, my very first tutorial. I've never written one of these before, but I had so much fun making these ornaments, that I thought everyone should know how! The 1st one is Night of Navy and the 2nd one is Cool Caribbean. I also made one with Marigold Morning, but the picture made it look orange and not very pretty, but it's gorgeous IRL!

First carefully take the metal hanger off your ornament. Then add about 20 drops of reinker. I used Cranberry Crisp for this tutorial. (see pic 1) Then you need to swirl the ink around inside the ornament until it coats the inside completely. (see pic 2) After you have the entire inside coated, turn the ornament upside down so that it can drain into something. (see pic 3)

Ok now you need to use some sort of funnel to add the glitter. I just made one from scrap copy paper. (see pic 4) Add about 1 1/2 teaspoon of ultra fine glitter to the ornament. (see pic 5) Now here comes the fun part! Take your thumb and COMPLETELY cover the opening. (I have tiny hands and I can do this, so you should be able to as well.) (see pic 6) Now SHAKE the ornament. Shake it hard, but be careful not to hit it on anything. You want to shake it and not roll the glitter around inside, rolling it will create lines in the glitter, while shaking it will give a smoother look.

Now you want to have a plastic baggie ready to catch the excess glitter. This is the bonus of this technique. You now have custom colored glitter you can use on other projects! (see pics 7 & 8) Let the ornament dry for a few minutes and replace the metal hanger. Your custom glitter ornament is done! These are so much fun and SO easy to make!

Christmas Gift Swap

Well, this is what I've been working on on and off since Wednesday. It's finally done! I had to make 22 of them. For those of you who have actually been reading my blog since its inception, you will recognize this little ornament. I made a few minor changes (no embossing, more star glitter, different ribbon and ribbon attachment) but I still like this one just as much as the first. I hope you enjoy it! These are the large Maya Road Journey Tins that can be found at the Frantic Stamper website here: http://www.franticstamper.com/maya-emb.htm I used Stacy's CM circle cutting system and there was a circle in it that fit PERFECTLY! Thanks Stacy for saving me hours of cutting circles!!!! Enjoy!

Make It, Bake It, Grow It

The ladies in my husband's squadron (where he works) are having our annual Make It, Bake It, Grow It auction to raise money for the squadron. Last year I had just decided to soon become a demonstrator and donated 10 cards that sold for $25. Not to bad, but not that great either. This year I've made a gift basket that contains 8 Holiday cards/envelopes, a beaded pen, a post-it note holder, a refrigerator calendar, a domino ornament, and a mini composition book. The colors were inspired by the tin that they will come in (behind all of the objects in the picture). It has a color close to Pink Passion, one that's pretty much Certainly Celery, and another that is super close to Garden Green. So, using this color theme (ignoring the odd-colored blue snowflakes) I created these projects. I didn't want the composition book, pen, calendar, or post-it note holder to be themed to Christmas so that someone would feel weird using them in July, for instance. The cards and ornament though, I was able to tie the penguins in with the colors used by using the little penguin from the Wild About You stamp set. I love that little guy! Anyway, I hope you like it, and I hope it earns lots of money for the squadron!!!

It's not even Thanksgiving Yet!

Well, Thanksgiving is still weeks away, but here I am working away at Christmas cards and other items. Some of them are for my upcoming craft show. Others are for swaps or just to have as examples at workshops. Since I skipped yesterday, I'll post 2 pictures of what I've been working on. I claim about zero originality on the ornament that you'll see here. I got the idea for it from Debbie Olson's blog Thinking Inking . I changed up the colors a bit, tied the ribbon differently, and used some little glitter stars inside instead of microbeads. I also embossed the image in ultra fine gold e.p. I thought that her use of the City of David stamp set for the stamped image was perfect. I absolutely love this set! This ornament I am going to have to make 24 of - for a Christmas Gift Swap that I'm part of with other SU! demonstrators in my up/sideline. I hope you like it!

The card you see below is one that I made after getting the idea from SCS (SplitCoastStampers). To get to SCS, click on the link you see above on the right-hand side of the screen. The card layout was part of a weekly challenge they "issue." It was SC91 for those of you who frequent SCS. I finally used my Holiday Thyme designer series paper from SU!'s Holiday Mini catalog. I have such a hard time cutting into patterned paper! :) I really adore this new snowflake stamp set called The Snowflake Spot. It's such fun to use. Anyway, I hope that you are further inspired by this card to make your own Christmas cards!